Employment-based immigrants contribute greatly to America, although you would not know it from the way current U.S. policy treats them. Due to low quotas, a typical skilled immigrant sponsored by an American company now waits 6 to 10 years for a green card (permanent residence). The House Judiciary Committee marks up legislation this week to change that, representing likely the only measure Congress may take in the remaining weeks to aid innovation, the economy and the competitiveness of U.S. companies.

H.R. 5882, authored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would reduce wait times for green cards and help retain talented people in the United States. It would do this by providing green cards that had been allotted in previous years but went unused, primarily due to bureaucratic obstacles.

?A developed country?s competitiveness now comes primarily from its capacity to innovate ? the ability to create the new products and services that people want,? according to Curtis Carlson of the Silicon Valley research firm SRI International. Skilled immigrants are a vital source of America?s capacity to innovate.

The National Venture Capital Association reports that 1 in 4 publicly-trade companies that began with venture capital since 1990 had at least one immigrant founder. While the vast majority of employees at U.S. firms are Americans, when U.S. employers recruit on college campuses they find foreign nationals represent a high proportion of the graduates in key fields. In 2006, 73% of new electrical engineering Ph.D.s in the U.S. were granted to international students, according to the National Science Foundation, while in 2005, foreign nationals received 55 percent of electrical engineering master?s degrees and 42 percent of computer science master?s degrees.

H-1B temporary visas, which have been exhausted each of the past 5 fiscal years, only allow individuals to stay on a temporary basis, so an employment-based green card is necessary to stay here permanently. The separate quota for green cards for skilled immigrants is set at 140,000 a year (including dependents of the skilled immigrant). That quota has also been insufficient to meet demand, creating waits of 6 to 10 years for a green card.

The great uncertainty these waits create lead some to give up and leave the United States and others to not even begin the process. The current long waits ?cause a reverse brain drain affecting American competitiveness and innovation,? according to Aman Kapoor, executive director of the group Immigration Voice. ?At the same time, these green card backlogs create severe quality of life issues for the applicants and their families.?

Those who understand markets realize that there is no such thing as a fixed number of jobs, as critics of high skill immigration maintain. A 2008 National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) study found that for every skilled foreign national requested (for H-1B visas) with the Department of Labor, U.S. technology companies increase their employment by 5 workers. Many U.S. executives confirm this experience at their firms. Looking to America?s next generation of scientists and engineers, a 2004 NFAP study found more than half of the finalists for the Intel Science Talent Search, the leading contest for top U.S. high school science students, were the children of skilled immigrants.

In addition to the reduced waiting times for green cards from H.R. 5882, Congress can take other steps. It can fix the labor certification process for skilled immigrants under which the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requires companies to engage in expensive and time-consuming advertisements to show no qualified Americans are available for certain jobs. Neither the law nor the original DOL regulations required such advertisements. Yet DOL is using its questionable authority to, among other things, audit thousands of green card cases from the nation?s largest immigration law firm, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy. The Fragomen firm has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging DOL has exceeded its authority. Congressional oversight is warranted. Congress can also eliminate the per country limit for skilled immigrants, which pushes back wait times for Indian and Chinese professionals, exempt from green card quotas those who earn a master?s degree or higher, and increase the quotas for H-1B temporary visas.

While H.R. 5882 will not solve all our immigration problems, it represents an important effort to retain talented individuals in America so they can help create jobs and innovation in the United States.

Stuart Anderson is a former Staff Director of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee and now Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonpartisan policy research group based in Arlington, Va.

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trajendrababu

09-24 10:25 PM

Delivered to Mickels at 9:01 on Jul 2nd to NSC. No CC, no receipt, nothing!! Wondering what to do !!

Say, I have approved I-140 (current PD) from employer A (never worked with). Work with employer B in a different. Now if employer A applies for I-485 and after it is pending for 6 months, Can I invoke AC21 to continue the GC process while still with employer B ?

Also is it possible to have 2 separate I-485 filed from different employers.

I have heard the above is possible. But, I am curious as to how AC21 is interpreted. Isn't AC21 essentially an instrument to change jobs without hampering the GC process. In this case since one is not 'really switching jobs' how will this be treated or possible ?

Thank You.

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factoryman

05-21 10:02 PM

I am twice bitten... by photos at Walgreens Don't even think. I took PP for passport renewal. VEry bad quality.

Still I went to Walagreens and took PP for visit visa to Canada. Rejected by Canadian Consulate in Seattle. Don't waste your time and money.

In Denver / Aurora - there is H-Mart (or HAR Mart). I am also thinking of going to Costco. 6 photos for above age 14 ; else 4. That is what my attorney asked.

I agree nobody cares...for now, from experience i can tell you that i have advised most of my juniors to try MS in Australia, they can get an Aussi citizenship faster and most have listened. I am sure i am not the only one saying so, this could and will eventually affect the number of students(and the quality) coming here for MS/Phd etc, agreed that US is still the best place for a post graduation but the visa hassles of getting an EAD/H1/GC is not worth the effort, most of the students coming in will be over the hill in terms of their growth by the time they get the GC, if they get it in the first place...imho. I have had friends in EB1 NIW stuck in a mess for years. IF you talk to the kids working in indian companies, most will tell you that they want to come to US for short term projects. Most know the mess that we are in. Sometimes we are so preoccupied with our issues that we are not aware that the world is watching us and learning from our mistakes

btw:- i did not give you the red dot, if you are offended by it you can email IV about it, they can easily query and find out who gave you the dot. (to the guys who post "anonymous"...it is not as "anonymous" as you think) Try that and see what happens. :D :D

Nobody cares if you stay here or go back.

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desi485

11-11 01:14 PM

Found some interesting information at this URL (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0321-murthy.shtm)

"While a denial due to USCIS error can normally be addressed in a Motion to Reopen, it is obviously never a good situation, especially if the applicant and/or the family members do not have a backup nonimmigrant status, such as H1B or H-4. Without the backup status, each I-485 applicant will be immediately out of status upon issuance of the denial. Often all employment cards are no longer valid once the I-485 is denied, as well, causing an additional financial toll on a family."

This looks from murthy and contradicts with what Ron Gotcher mentioned on his website.

Many Many congratulations SOP, I have been reading and following your case. Your case is one of the best glowing example that persistence to truth always pays, sometimes the path maybe tough but never give up and never say die. All the best to you and your family, must have been a very special feeling that all the effort finally resulted in success.

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prashantc

01-29 10:41 AM

AP can be used to re-enter and you can continue on your H1 if it is valid. Your H1 is invalidated only if you use EAD. I just came back to US using AP, I had booked an appointment for Visa interview. But after seeing the PIMS mess I decided to use AP. It was very smooth and easy.

A question though: is'nt it abandoning your H1B1 visa tenure if you enter on AP even with a valid H1B remaining?[/QUOTE] Well good for you that you could use AP. We had AP ourselves, but I wanted to use the remaining H1B period, hence the big mistake. Now the only way to use AP is to withdraw our visa applications, get the passports, and fly back. I will resort to this ifthe passports are not returned by the coming weekend. Chennai consulate sucks!!

Congrats ski_dude12. My personal opinion is that this may have delayed your greencard since July. Sometimes people get too anxious once their date is current and want to try everything that is possible to get approval. There is so much information and misinformation on forums.

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smuggymba

08-18 09:22 AM

Landed in this country on Aug-16-1997 for Masters. Today myself and my wife both got CPO mail/text message. Thanks IV community and good luck to all. I will be doing my part to make this system better!!!

Details:

PD: 04 Jan 2006, EB2 I RD: 07 Jul 2007, TSC (I-140 was with NSC, but the attorney sent it to TSC in the july 2007 fiasco) ND: 27 Aug 2007, NSC

PD - Oct, 2005 NSC Sent email to followup address on 8/6 (no response yet), sent again to scopsscata address on 8/13 Asked my congressman to inquire on 8/12 Opened SR on 8/13 Got CPO email on 8/16 (Happy Independence Day!!! Well I am sure they wanted to present this gift on 8/15, but what could they do, it was a Sunday!)

Hope and pray that the rest of the people waiting get their approvals soon!

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indianabacklog

06-15 10:05 AM

Hi everyone ,

i have three question please please anyone answer ....

1 - i have previously applied but was returned due to pd not current , what to file in the form where it say if u have appllied before ? ( i am filing on my own this time )

2 - should the salary be there on employment letter . if so the present day salary or the one with labour approve ?

3 - i have an A# when my file was returned should i use that or leave it blank wherever it is asked also my wife have TIN number is that what i am supposed to write where it ask her to give her SSN

i will appreciate anyone answering any question please

thank you

pranju

The employment letter should state the salary and should also say the job is full time and permanent. Also include general job description and job title matching the labor cert.

You should include your A# wherever it is asked for. You do NOT put the taxpayer ID # instead of SS#, leave it blank.

Regarding your first question. I would suggest the truth is always the truth and check the yes box to an application being filed before and add a short explanatory note with it.

good luck, I filed mine and my husbands on my own, just take your time and read carefully.

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xlr8r

09-24 10:51 AM

Received the CPO email yesterday late afternoon. Whew!

My case had been sitting with an officer for a month and a half before adjudication. For a while I thought I was going to miss the bus, if they ran out of visa numbers.

camarasa

07-09 08:04 PM

Oh, and they wont all go to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital, I bet Mrs Gonzalez will end up with a bunch or two.

americandesi

03-24 05:50 PM

I've seen many job ads asking for US citizens or GC holders only. That implies that EAD and H1B holders cannot apply. And at the same time at the end of the ad, u can see a text that says "xxx is an equal opportunity employer". Though both the statements are contradictory, companies post such ads. Not sure though if companies are allowed to have such policies. If so, why?

Pls refer the link from DOJ posted above. It clearly states that "US citizen and "green-card" (i.e., permanent resident) only policies are generally prohibited, unless required by law, regulation, or government contract"